Rosy Mound: From Fragrant to Funky and Back Again

Rosy Mound: From Fragrant to Funky and Back Again

Written by: Marjie Viveen

Edited by: Bobbi Sabine

In May, 1862, a feature in the Grand Haven News reminded readers that Rosy Mound had “received its beautiful and significant title from Hon. Timothy Eastman, who, probably, was the first white man that ascended its summit, and found its sides and apex crowned with wild roses in rich profusion, imparting the most pleasing emotion to delight the senses.” Perhaps Eastman was lured to the site by flowery fragrances carried aloft on gentle breezes along the shoreline. But by spring 1906, to the shock and dismay of Rosy Mound neighbors, the whiff of wild roses had given way to the unforgettably pungent, sulfurous, burnt garlic miasma of fresh skunk…not just a lone waddling woods kitty, but an entire skunkery!

On the scent of the story in May 1906, a reporter from the Grand Rapids Press wrote that A. A. Northouse, a young farmer living at Rosy Mound, had “embarked in the business of raising skunks.” Alfred Albert Northouse was the 19-year-old son of Albert Cornelius Northouse. The elder was a well-known horticulturist/beekeeper in the area, and among other public titles, the Director of School District #2, Rosy Mound. The Northouse homestead stood directly across Grandville Road (Lakeshore Drive) from the school, and upon Albert’s death, was occupied by son Alfred. Like his father, Alfred had a nose for farming.

On the heels of his father’s successes, Alfred started his own entrepreneurial enterprise. He first built a secure enclosure and then bought up skunks herded by local farm boys. By fall 1906,
the coupling critters had multiplied to nearly 1000. Primarily bred for their fur, pelts were illicitly marketed as black martin or Alaskan sable (giving skunk a more aristocratic air). Skunk
body fat rendered to oil was sold for treatment of rheumatism, while hunters and trappers bought and anointed themselves in stinky discharge to camouflage their less desirable human
scent. Choice animals sold as pets brought $12 a pair. Skunk hides fetched 40 cents each. One Ohio skunk farmer claimed to make $5000 annually off his 1000 animals. Alfred hoped for the
same.

All seemed heaven “scent” until fur coats, like beaver hats before them, faded from fashion. We don’t know if Alfred ever became stinking rich from his short-lived skunkery, clearing the air for the return of roses, but do know that by the 1950s he had retired comfortably in Florida. 

If you wish to “smell the roses,” we urge you to make some memories of your own at Rosy Mound County Park, where you can get “drunk as a skunk” on nature.

*Photo credit Wallace Ewing.

Marjie Viveen is a local historian and serves on the Ottawa County Parks Foundation Board of Directors. 

Bobbi Sabine is the President of the Ottawa County Parks Foundation Board of Directors.

Foundation Board Welcomes New Member

The Ottawa County Parks Foundation would like to welcome Anita Yoder to the Board of Directors. Anita is owner of Designs on the Grand, which is a web design and internet marketing company.

One of Anita’s passions when traveling around the country is exploring parks. Because of these experiences, her personal love of parks and desire to protect and promote natural spaces, she has been volunteering on the Ottawa County Parks Foundation communications committee.

As a transplant to Ottawa County and Michigan, one of her favorite things about living here is the abundance of parks and the recreational opportunities they provide. Anita enjoys trail running and this past year she trained for a race last June, the Double Dipsea (50th year) trail race in Stinson Beach, CA, by running loops in Rosy Mound and also North Ottawa Dunes. Anita’s favorite parks to run and hike are North Ottawa Dunes, Rosy Mound, and Hemlock Crossing.